The Great Chain

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Why is Blasphemy the ONLY Unforgivable Sin?

"Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." Mark 3:28-29

"And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." Matthew 12:30-32

Of all the vile, despicable, wretched, evil acts that humankind can commit, murder, rape, torture, slavery, genocide, child abuse, why exactly is Blasphemy considered the ONLY unforgivable sin?

Why exactly is it that out of all the horrible ACTIONS that humans can commit, only WORDS are considered unforgivable.

Words.

Is God really so thin skinned? So petty? So easily insulted? I seem to recall a phrase from my youth 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.' Clearly this phrase does not apply to our allegedly all powerful Creator. Our thin skinned, whimpering, blubbering Creator is so deeply wounded that merely denying His existence or doubting the magics of his allegedly annointed one is the ONE unforgivable sin.

Murder your fellow man? No problem. Just believe and you'll be forgiven.

Rape a woman? No problem. Just believe and you'll be forgiven.

Rape a child? No problem. Just believe and you'll be forgiven.

Torture a child? No problem. Just believe and you'll be forgiven.

Slaughter an entire people? No problem. Just believe and you'll be forgiven.

Enslave an entire populations? No problem. Just believe and you'll be forgiven.

Deny God's existence? Deny that Jesus' 'magics' were the work of the Holy Spirit? UNFORGIVABLE!!! YOU ARE DAMNED FOR ALL ETERNITY AND NO AMOUNT OF BELIEF OR PRAYER WILL SAVE YOU FROM GOD'S WRATH!!!

Why exactly is blasphemy the ONE unforgivable sin? Easy.

Control.

Religion is and always has been about control. About subjugation. About dominance. Nothing is better at quashing dissent than claiming that the very act of dissent is a one way ticket to eternal torment and damnation. This doctrine cleverly nips dissent in the bud, because not only is dissent a sin, it is UNFORGIVABLE, which means merely dabbling in dissent, perhaps even thinking about it could unalterably destroy any chance you have at salvation.

Christianity is and always has trafficked in fear. Blasphemy is the ONLY unforgivable sin because the one thing that Christianity itself has always feared is dissent.

Update: I am well aware that it is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, however, the three are one and the same. It's your trinitarian gobbledygook, not mine.

5 comments:

And yet they believe religion guarantees morality. If you blasphemed when you were 18 you may have 62 more years to live. What would be the point of living according to "Christian morals" if you'd already thrown it all away?

I think the only point of living at that point would be to delay your inevitable and irreversible descent into Hell.

Obviously there would be no point in living according to Christian morals, though strangely, despite the fact that I am clearly one of the Hellbound, I don't find myself murdering and raping and stealing and such... Fancy that.

Well Jeffrey you are both wrong and right. As much as I think rape, murder and torture are unforgivable acts my Lord and savior has enough love and compassion to forgive these. Lets also keep in mind that most true Christians would never commit any of these and most people who commit these will never ask for forgiveness. Regardless you are right as Jeffery Dahmer is a perfect example of this. The rest of your insert however strays from the truth. But thats ok bro, i won't leave you hanging. God forgives blasphemy. Blasphemy is in no way unforgivable. You can call God or Jesus anything you like and expect forgiveness. "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man (Jesus) will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." But what does it mean to speak blasphemy against the spirit? It's something very few people have done and to understand it you have to go back a couple verses to Matthew 12:24. The pharisees had just seen Jesus perform a miracle and said it was the work of beelzebul and that is what blasphemy of the spirit is. To see a miracle performed by God and to say it was an act of the devil. It be a little hard to squeeze control out of a verse like that. Look I know nothing I'm going to post here will change your mind, you're going to believe whatever you choose to believe but know this. We seem to be both men of morals and seek the greater good for our world. Maybe you were wronged by Christians in your past as I have been and i'm sure you have other reasons to shun religion. Many people call themselves Christians with out walking the narrow path it entails. But I do hope we meet one day in a greater place than this world, where death is just a memory and pain is no more.I enjoyed reading your article and who knows I might make it a routine to come here and debate with you and share a little truth :) Take care and God Bless.

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Meaning Without God is an ongoing project to give voice to those who seek to experience this marvelous world not through the prism of bronze age fairy tales and ancient superstitions, but through the light of reason and the gift of understanding. To give comfort to those who question the value of their existence and who struggle to find meaning in the midst of life's chaos. To give purpose and hope to those who believe in the grace, nobility and beauty of the human spirit.